Only electrified cars and vans will be sold from new in the UK from 2040, the government has announced in a paper published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The move is part of a £2.7bn blueprint for tackling air pollution, and is consistent with the Government’s election manifesto. The ban won’t affect cars with hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, but rather “conventional petrol and diesel cars”.

The paper also mentions further possible exemptions for combustion engine cars, once air quality levels improve to a satisfactory point. This suggests the ban could be lifted to allow small volume combustion engine models to be sold.

A targeted scrappage scheme for older diesel vehicles is also being considered, but it won’t be ratified until after a consultation period.

In 2017 around 4% of all new car sales have been plug-in hybrids or fully electric, with around a quarter of that figure sales of fully electric cars. Current predictions by charging point firm Chargemaster suggest that the first one million plug-in hybrid or electric car sales will be achieved in the UK in 2022, by which point electrified car sales will account for around 10% of all new car sales. There are around 40m cars on UK roads today.

Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders CEO Mike Hawes cautioned that the automotive sector could be ‘undermined’ if the industry was not given enough time to adapt to the new policy.

“Much depends on the cost of these new technologies and how willing consumers are to adopt battery, plug in hybrid and hydrogen cars,” said Hawes.

“Currently demand for alternatively-fuelled vehicles is growing but still at a very low level as consumers have concern over affordability, range and charging points.

“Outright bans risk undermining the current market for new cars and our sector which supports over 800,000 jobs across the UK so the industry instead wants a positive approach which gives consumers incentives to purchase these cars.”

Additionally, a £255 million fund is expected to be set up to aid councils to clean up the most polluted inner-city areas.

Potential methods of tackling local issues include introducing charging for high-polluting vehicles through to the removal of speed humps and traffic calming measures has also been highlighted as a possible improvement. Money will also be made available to retro-fit pollution-reducing technology to public transport

Air pollution is linked to around 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK. A government spokesman said: “Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible.”

Several car makers have welcomed today’s news, with Hyundai stating that the combustion engine ban aligns with its current plans. A spokesperson told Autocar “Hyundai Motor has already launched the new Ioniq – the world’s first car to offer Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid and full Electric powertrains all in one bodystyle –which is currently on sale in the UK. To date in 2017, it has sold circa 15,000 Ioniq vehicles in Europe and 2500 in the UK.

“It is also a pioneer in zero emission fuel cell technology and it was the first manufacturer to make a fuel cell vehicle commercially available to the UK market back in October 2014. To date, we have sold 15 cars here in the UK and 500 across Europe. That is more than all other brands offering Fuel Cell combined. An all-new fuel cell vehicle will be introduced in 2018.”

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Please keep an eye out for these offers and contact us as soon as you can, as these deals end fast!

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